The role of temporality as a cognitive and cultural factor in communication processes has been largely neglected in communication research. However, it is possible to examine the representation of time on three levels: allocation of events or actions to categories (as in sacred time versus profane time), temporal orientation, and the content of past or future images. The content of mediated messages (e.g., television programs or novels) may readily be analyzed according to their temporal orientations; certain media may even tend toward one or another orientation. It might also be expected that various orientations would lead toward different kinds of information-seeking and processing behavior, as expressed both in media use and interpersonal communication. At the societal level, future-orientation is largely dominated by "futurology," the attempt to anticipate the future through projecting a continuation of present trends. The free imagination is given more play in science fiction, but usually only the technology is futuristic--the social structure tends to reflect a continuation of the status quo (nuclear family, democratic capitalism, etc.) Temporality may prove to be an important field of conflict between the individual and society: the role of the media in this conflict may be of considerable interest. (NKA)

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